What Is a Driveway Easement?

A driveway easement, like other property easements, typically allows the owner of a piece of property to grant use for a specific purpose. Generally, an easement does not provide possession rights to the property; rather, another party is given limited use of the property, sometimes for a set length of time. One example of a driveway easement is sharing parking with another neighbor. Another example is when a driveway separates two homes that are extremely close together. In this case, the easement may allow a neighbor to set up a ladder to access his own roof.

Specific rights under a driveway easement may vary by jurisdiction; local ordinances and any other applicable laws typically should be checked beforehand. An assessor’s office may have property maps that indicate the boundaries of the easement, along with any other easements on the property. In some cases, a property owner may give verbal permission or a license for driveway use and this is considered less binding than an easement. Licenses tend to also be easier to change or dissolve.

There are generally two types of easements: public and private. Driveway easements tend to be private agreements between people and a business or other organization. A public easement allows for public use. An easement may also be granted if a person simply uses the property for a certain amount of time. This can be done without formal permission from the property owner.

When entering into or maintaining an easement agreement, it usually is important to keep the lines of communication open so there are no surprises on either side. Problems can arise when one or both parties fail to follow the terms of the driveway easement. A poor relationship with a neighbor or other party to the easement can create unnecessary problems.

One potential problem area is whether both parties are expected to maintain the property. It should be very clear whether a certain amount of maintenance is required. This may involve services for plowing the driveway or making upgrades, such as resurfacing.

If disputes arise, it typically is recommended that the parties try talking with each other to resolve the issues. In some cases, the conditions of the driveway easement may be renegotiated. If that does not work, a real estate attorney might be contacted to review the easement. It generally is unfair and unwise to proceed with a lawsuit or other collection activity without first trying to resolve the matter with the other party. If the other party deliberately destroys property or refuses to pay for driveway renovations that were previously agreed upon, there is more likely to be recourse for legal action.

Since an easement in its simplest definition constitutes a right or agreement to use, own, or possess a portion of another person's property in a limited way, a shared driveway often consists of one or more easements. In the case of a shared driveway, both users and owners of the driveway generally have easements they must adhere to. There are several types of shared driveway easements largely based on the location of the driveway.

Some shared driveways exist completely on one property, and the easement grants the other property owner rights to use and possess the driveway to access his or her property. Often, these easements are referred to as appurtenant easements and include one servient tenement and one or more dominant tenements. The servient tenement is the property that contains the shared driveway and has to allow the easement. The dominant tenements are any properties that benefit from using the easement.

Other shared driveways exist on both properties at the same time. These shared driveways straddle the property line between two or more properties, automatically requiring all the containing properties to have simultaneous rights to use and possession. Sometimes these kinds of shared driveways will be looked at as no man's land areas or as every man's areas.

Regardless of which kind of driveway easement exists, determining who is responsible for maintaining each driveway easement can be tricky and lead to disagreements between neighbors. Generally, driveway easements require some form of maintenance contract or agreement between the different property owners. Sometimes the maintenance responsibilities are informal, verbal ones and other times they are more formal, written and recorded arrangements.

Often, the person who owns the property on which the majority of the driveway easement exists is responsible for maintaining the driveway. If the driveway is shared equally, then all property owners who share it generally have to maintain it. In either situation every property owner who owns, allows or uses the driveway and driveway easement may contribute physically, financially or both to keep the driveway in working condition.

As property ownership changes occur, sometimes these upkeep agreements may change as well. Usually, driveway easements and shared driveways go along with the property regardless of who owns it. This helps protect people from suddenly losing access to their own property or other regularly used facilities. However, new ownership or other changes over time can lead to new agreements or disagreements over who should be maintaining the driveway. It is always best to continue open, honest and regular communication between property owners and revisit understood agreements often to ensure that everyone remains content.

Driveway easements are often more formal than a simple verbal acceptance or agreement, so it is unlikely that one day a driveway easement will be in place and the next day it will not. That said, it is possible to abolish both informal and formal driveway easements. To revoke an easement usually all parties have to agree, the benefiting party has to abandon their claim and use, or a professional, legal order has to end the easement.

If all the property owners and users of the easement agree that the easement should no longer exist, the easement can be revoked. This situation is one of the rarer forms of easement abolishment. Sometimes this end to an easement might occur when benefiting parties gain or build a different access route to their property or the area that they need to reach. This type of revocation might also occur if the reason for the initial easement no longer exists. For example, if an easement provides access to woods for hunting to a non-property owner and the woods are destroyed, the reason for the easement would no longer exist and the property owner and easement user might mutually agree to end the easement.

More often, the person or people who use the easement will simply stop using it for a certain amount of time with no clear intent to use it in the future and the property owner who allowed the easement can claim abandonment. Abandoned easements seem to serve no real purpose and can be more officially revoked if the property owner desires it. Sometimes easement abandonment might require legal or other professional intervention to officially recognize the abandonment and end the easement.

Finally, sometimes disagreements over an easement may end in court or other legal proceedings to formally abolish the easement. Usually, for the easement to be revoked in this way, both parties will have to have legal representation and professional intervention because they cannot reach an agreement about the easement on their own.

To put it simply, a driveway easement is the right to access your property by driving through someone else's. It's usually a narrow strip of land that runs between two properties and gives the owner of the adjacent property the ability to get access to their land by driving through the easement area. 

In most cases, the establishment of a driveway easement requires an agreement to be made between the owner of the property and the party that requires access to the owner's land. Documentation of this agreement is required to be filed with the county clerk or another local authority. 

This agreement might come in the form of a written contract or a deed. The agreement should explicitly explain the easement's provisions, including the location and size of the easement area, the easement's tenure, and any prohibitions or restrictions on its use. 

The party who needs access to their property is the one who benefits from a driveway easement since it allows them to drive across the land of someone else in order to get there. 

On the other side, the landowner who grants the easement stands to gain financially because they may be compensated for the privilege of allowing another party to utilize their property. 

In addition, the easement may increase the value of the land because it gives the owner of the property next door an easier way to access their own land. 

The terms of an agreement governing a driveway easement will specify any restrictions that apply to the easement. In most cases, the easement holder is restricted to entering their property just through the designated easement area. 

They are not allowed to use the easement for any other purpose, such as parking or storage, and doing so is a violation of the terms. 

The easement may also be subject to limitations, such as a limit on the number of cars that can use it at the same time.  

Several criteria should be considered before awarding a driveway easement. Consider not only where the easement area is located but also how large it is and whether or not it will interfere with the way you personally use the land. 

In addition to this, you need to determine the length of time the easement will be in effect and whether it will be temporary or permanent. 

Last but not least, as the owner of the property, it is your responsibility to thoroughly examine the terms of the easement agreement and determine whether or not they are reasonable and fair. You should also consult an attorney to ensure that the terms of the agreement are legally enforceable and tie you to the agreement in the event of a breach.